Wacom Intuos4

Pen tablets aren't just for commercial artists anymore. For proof, look no further than the just-released Wacom Intuos4 ($230 and up, street, depending on size), a worthy addition to the toolkits of professionals, casual artists, and photography enthusiasts alike. Used with Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Corel Painter 11, the Intuos4's impressive pressure sensitivity lets you lighten or darken areas of an image with precision. Putting the tablet to work with Photoshop's dodge, burn, blur, and sharpen tools gives you the kind of personal expression that's associated with a photographic darkroom. And if you're used to drawing with traditional art materials, such as chalk or watercolors, you'll find that the combination of Intuos4 and Painter comes remarkably close to that experience. Wacom is pretty much the only game in town when it comes to pen tablets, but the impressive Intuos4 proves that the lack of competition hasn't made the company lazy.

For this review, Wacom provided me with the medium version of the Intuos4. Think of this midsized, midpriced pen tablet as the Goldilocks model—not too large, not too expensive. The active area of the 10-by-14.6-inch (HW) pad, at 5.5 by 8.8 inches, is not as high but a bit wider than the 6-by-8-inch active area of the Intuos3 6x8. With the Intuos4, the company has switched from the active-area designations associated with its now-discontinued predecessor to the generic small, medium, large, and extra large.

A rubberlike finish along the bottom half of the pen helps you keep a firm grip. But it also attracts dust and lint, so when not in use, keep the pen in the supplied holder. The tablet has a sleek, all-black appearance, as opposed to the Intuos3's institutional slate-gray styling. The eight programmable ExpressKeys are sensibly grouped to one side, rather than being split between the left- and right-hand sides, as they were on the Intuos3.

The ExpressKey functions, now highlighted with OLED-illuminated labels, are visually impressive. And a new Touch Ring lets you speed-dial through zoom levels and brush sizes. The Intuos4 offers 2,048 pressure levels (up from 1,024 for the Intuos3). Those who prefer a light touch will notice a difference immediately: The pen now reacts to just a single gram of pressure

Wacom Technology Corporation

http://www.wacom.com

• Price as Tested: $370.00 Street
• Type: Business, Personal, Enterprise
• OS Compatibility: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, Mac OS
• Tech Support: Wacom offers free technical support to our customers, 7AM to 5PM (Pacific), Monday through Thursday, and 8:30AM to 5PM (Pacific) on Friday.
• Notes: Prices by size: small ($230), medium ($370), large ($500), and extra large ($790)